Upgraded helicopter has Burbank, Glendale police flying high

Arriving from Arizona, Glendale and Burbank police last week flew in their new shared helicopter, which is equipped with updated features for more efficient and effective police work, officials said.

The $2.9-million air unit — the cost of which was split between the two cities — will replace a 22-year-old MD-520N helicopter, which is one of the three air units the cities currently share. An updated version of the same model, the new helicopter is expected to last 20 years, or 15,000 hours.

The new chopper features an improved navigational system and imaging capabilities that will allow those in the air to see clearly what’s happening on the ground.

“If you had a suspect running, going over a fence, goes behind a building, between two buildings — certainly you can see an image of the individual,” said Burbank Police Capt. Mike Albanese. “As you bring it back wide, you can see where that person is in relation to other buildings.”

The improvement will be particularly helpful in providing protection for officers on the ground “so they’re not running into trouble,” said Burbank Police Chief Scott LaChasse.

The visual advantage is useful not just during pursuits, but also when patrolling areas impacted by crime. For example, the helicopter can hover over the city’s hillside homes, where residential burglaries have been reported, as well as the downtown area, where there have been vehicle break-ins, LaChasse said.

“If they spot something, they can call a ground unit in,” LaChasse said.

While a Glendale/Burbank helicopter unit is in the air on patrol every day for 4 1/2 hours, the aircrafts are also used for narcotics surveillance, fire assessments, power-line checks, search-and-rescue missions and to transport K-9 units and the SWAT team, said Glendale Police Sgt. Rich Phillips.

The improvements make the new helicopter the quietest available, he added.

“With all the noise-sensitive areas we have within the cities, it allows us to do our job more efficiently without causing so much noise on the ground that it creates a nuisance for the constituents we serve,” Phillips said.

In 2007, Glendale and Burbank entered into an agreement to combine their air-support units.

The retired helicopter will be sold for between $450,000 to $500,000.